Awake in the Dream
by GengaJupite
Summary: The Wind Fish has awakened, and the dream of Koholint has vanished. Link washes up on the shores of Hyrule, devastated by the loss of his beloved Marin. After being rescued, he meets Malon, who gives him a new reason to exist. However, when his dreams begin to affect reality, Link must make a choice that will decide the fate of his existence. Does not follow game chronology.
1. Collapse

Hey, everybody, GengaJupite here! It's been a while since I started writing in a different fandom, but I've been planning this one for a while now. Just to clarify what I meant in the summary by not following the official chronology, this is sort of a cross-dimensional story that succeeds _Link's Awakening _and brings him into the Hyrule of _Ocarina of Time_. There won't actually be any OoT game content aside from the locations and characters presented. Hopefully that's straightforward enough, but if not…well, you'll understand once this starts going.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda. All rights go to Nintendo.

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_**Awake in the Dream**_

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A melody of finality. A signifier of destruction. The final sendoff for a world that never existed. The sound rang throughout the black void where the Wind Fish had finally been freed from its nightmares. Each instrument floated in the air as if played by the very consciousness of the Wind Fish itself, building upon the layers and richness of the music as it continued to awaken. With each crescendo, the world itself seemed to shake, caught in a quake that would wipe out the dream entirely; however, a metaphor it was not, for this dream world truly would disappear, along with everything in it.

Standing atop the platform in the void, Link gazed forlornly at the world as it dissipated below him. His time on Koholint Island had been short, and from the very beginning his intention had been to leave. Now that the time to leave had reached him, however, Link found that his heart could not part with this land. The people of Koholint had shown him such kindness, such patience, such joy, and he never could have imagined that every single one of them was nothing more than a figment of a god's unconscious dreaming.

"Link…"

The hero spun around at the sound of a voice, _her_ voice. Standing before him was the first person he'd met here, the one who saved him when he washed up on the shores of the island.

"Marin," he mumbled in disbelief. Was she truly here? It was impossible, wasn't it? Then again, this was still a dream, a crumbling dream in which no anomaly was too impossible at this point.

He wanted to speak more, say her name over and over, but the dryness of his throat caught any and all words that tried to escape. His vision began to blur as tears welled up in his eyes. She, like everything else on this island, was nothing more than an imaginary being created by the Wind Fish's subconscious, and would disappear just as everything else would. He couldn't accept it, _wouldn't_ accept that it was true, but at the same time he knew there was no way to deny what was happening before his very eyes.

Holding the orchid in place, Marin smiled sadly at Link as she tucked her silky, auburn hair behind her ear. "We had a lot of fun, didn't we?" she said, her voice noticeably holding back a sob. "I'm going to miss it."

"No," Link choked out as he took a burdened step toward her. "Marin, please don't say that; don't act like…like this is the end. Y-You're real, I know you are!" Shakily grasping onto her shoulders, he cried out in vain. "See? You're right here in front of me! You're real!"

The more he denied the truth, the heavier his heart became, and Link soon found that he could no longer blink back the tears in his eyes. He tightly squeezed his eyes shut and felt his legs wobble as the truth overtook him. There had to be a way to keep her with him! Marin was no longer just a figment of the Wind Fish's imagination; she was now a piece of Link's heart, nay, his entire heart itself! If he lost her, he would lose everything.

Feeling Marin's arms gently circle around his midsection finally broke Link down to the point of sobbing. Firmly wrapping his arms over her shoulders, he buried his face into her sweet-smelling hair, allowing his tears to freely flow onto her fiery locks.

"Were you happy, Link?" she mumbled softly into his chest. "Were you happy that I found you on that day and brought you home?"

Attempting to control his breathing, Link nodded and looked at her through misty eyes. "It's the best thing that happened to me since I washed up on the shore. Of course I was happy; it made me happier than anything else in the world."

Marin looked up at him, the melancholic smile remaining on her face as she did so. "I see," she said simply, her own eyes beginning to glisten and shimmer. "I'm so glad…that I could do that for you. Link…you mean so much to me…and I had to make sure that I didn't let you down."

"Marin," Link sobbed, gritting his teeth while he fought back his overwhelming sadness. "I can't…I can't lose you. How can I go on living without you? We've only been together for a short time, but I can't even imagine life without seeing you every day. I…I…"

"Shh, it's okay," she soothed, rubbing her hands along his back. "Even if I don't really exist, I'll still treasure every moment we've spent together, Link. You can't stop fate, though, and this was destined to happen from the moment you first washed up on this island. Look around you now, though. The world is gone, and we're the last two beings left. That has to mean something, doesn't it?"

Lifting his head, Link gazed around to find that, sure enough, nothing but the two of them embracing one another in a black void could be seen in any direction. He had failed to notice Koholint Island's disappearance, though it mattered not, as the only part of this dream he still needed was Marin. Soon enough, though, she, too, would disappear like the rest of the island, the dream, had already done.

"Link," she whispered softly, her voice floating around them like a gentle breeze, "can you close your eyes? There's nothing left for you to see, so I want you to burn every sensation of this moment into your mind. The sound, the smell, the feel, all of it."

Heeding her instructions, the hero slowly shut his eyes and wrapped the auburn-haired beauty tighter in his arms. He would never forget anything about Marin, and taking in her tantalizing scent, her gentle touch, and her soothing voice at this time would only be adding to the collection of unforgettable memories he'd had with this amazing girl.

His body began to relax as the sound of Marin's humming filled the air. Enveloping him in the warmth of the familiar tune, Link, himself, began humming along, allowing his emotions to fill every note. A tear squeezed through his shut eyelid as he realized that this would be the final memory of his beloved Marin. His notes began to go off tune as his sad emotions overtook him, but Marin continued to keep him on track with her lovely, pitched melody.

So entranced by the melody of her song, Link would not have noticed that Marin had stopped humming had she not spoken, but as the words reached his ears, he heard them loud and clear.

"Thank you…and goodbye, Link…"

"Marin!"

Link's eyes shot open as he cried out her name, but they were met with an unfamiliar sight, and the brightness of the scene blinded him momentarily. When his vision had finally cleared enough for him to see, an overwhelming feeling of depression washed over him.

He was back at sea.

The rolling blue waves of the ocean dipped up and down, splashing against his face to leave a salty taste and feel. The soft, slender body of Marin that he had clung to so passionately was now nothing more than a wooden plank that kept him afloat. As he looked around the area, not a trace of Koholint Island could be seen. Only the wreckage of his small raft was around the immediate area, giving the impression that he had only been unconscious for a short period of time.

"No…no, no, no…" he mumbled, searching around the area for any sign of Koholint or Mabe Village.

It was like he had woken from a dream, only to find himself in a nightmare instead of reality. The endless blue in all directions taunted him, toying with his emotions and ingraining the reality of the situation he now found himself in. Link repeatedly shut and reopened his eyes, submerging his head beneath the water occasionally as if these actions would bring back the nonexistent island. Each time he looked upon the ocean, though, his heart sank in defeat a little more. It was hopelessly futile, and nothing he could do would bring back Marin or the island.

Paddling toward a larger, curved section of his destroyed boat, Link seated himself on it with his head hung down. An odd sound filled the sky, and Link gazed upwards as the sun began darkening, only to realize that it was the sound of the Wind Fish flying overhead toward some unknown destination. It flew slowly as if it were mocking him for the trials he had overcome to rescue it. It had all amounted to nothing, and what did he have to show for his efforts? A broken heart and the memories of people and events that never existed in the first place.

Despite waking up only minutes ago, the hero suddenly found himself feeling drowsy. Perhaps it was the stress of everything that had just happened – or rather had not happened – so he laid himself down, making sure to keep his head raised from anywhere the water might be able to get him. As the gentle sound of the waves soothed his weary mind and aching soul, the memory of Marin's song lulled him into a lonesome, dreamless sleep…

∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆

It was days before Link finally drifted onto a landmass of some sort, and the feeling of land beneath him seemed almost foreign. Waking up on the sandy shores of some unknown beach was quite the contrast to finding himself in a warm bed with a pretty girl in the room. With what little strength he had, the warrior struggled to pick himself up and slowly dragged his feet up the sandy dune before him.

The sight he was met with was more hopeless than he could have imagined. As far as the eye could see, the land was covered in nothing but sand. Thick clouds of sand and dust carried by the wind obscured the distance he could actually see, and it seemed as though he'd washed up on the shores of a desert. Looking around through his weary eyes, it didn't seem as though the ocean's shoreline would lead anywhere either, as the desert seemed to stretch on endlessly in all directions..

However, rather than planning out a logical way to move forward, Link simply stepped into the fury of the desert, allowing his feet to carry him wherever they would. What would be the point in planning? He was already malnourished, dehydrated, and on the brink of death, and with his true happiness being nothing but a figment of some god's imagination, he really felt there was no reason to try living any longer than his body would hold out for.

The heat was sweltering, and what small amounts of water still remained in Link's body were sweated out in large amounts. For most of the time, he kept his eyes shut to avoid the stinging grains from blowing into them. To him, the idea of sight was only a burden at this point, as he had no idea which way to head and had no intention of finding civilization out here. After seeing nothing but blue for days on end, the idea of seeing only sand provided little comfort, so rather than subjecting himself to the torture of sight, he simply wandered blindly.

It wasn't long before the desert had surrounded him on all four sides. Even if he had wanted to turn back, which he certainly had no reason to, it would be impossible to tell which direction to go in. The sands had shifted and obscured any sort of footprints he may have left, and on the rare occasions he would open his eyes the heat played tricks on his vision. With each step, Link felt his body weakening, as if sending the energy out through his feet where it disappeared into the ground. Finally, after what felt like hours of walking, Link collapsed to his knees, unable to take another step farther.

"What's the use?" he spoke aloud, spitting out the sand that blew into his mouth. "I have nothing left, even if I find some sort of civilization. All my memories with her…those months I spent with Marin are gone… No, they never even existed. I was stuck in a dream…a dream that only lasted for one night…"

He had no tears to cry, so instead he began punching at the sand in front of him, sending small waves of dust up into the air as he furiously pounded at the ground. How could someone live when their reason to live was taken away? He had thought he was done with adventuring and was finally ready to live like a normal person, only to find that the home he wished to return to was fictional. There was no home to go back to; he was alone in this world of reality.

Curling up in a ball, Link began to accept the fact that he would die here in this desert. If his body were ever found, he would be nothing more than a nameless man who fell victim to the extreme conditions of the desert. Death did not seem like such a bad thing anymore, though. If he died, there was a chance he would join Marin in a place where non-existent souls found refuge.

He smiled in a delirious manner. If it meant he could see her again, then he would gladly welcome death and spend eternity with the woman he loved. Unless there was a way to bring her into reality, then there would be no reason to fight for his life.

"You can't…"

The sound of Marin's voice filled him with energy, and Link sprang up, calling out her name above the hiss of the sandy wind. However, as he looked around, the orchid-bearing girl was nowhere to be seen, and it was apparent that he'd simply imagined her voice. Was it his subconscious trying to keep him alive? Pathetic. Even when he'd accepted his fate, his mind fought against him to go on.

"What's wrong with me?!" he screamed, dropping to his knees and striking the sand again. Why couldn't he simply die, let go of the world and pass on like any person stranded in a desert would do. He no longer had the will to live, so shouldn't he have perished long ago? Apparently not, as his body and mind did not wish to give up yet, regardless of what he ordered them to do.

From the corner of his eye, a flicker of red flashed momentarily, and considering everything else was some shade of brown or beige, it seemed to stand out quite a bit. Quickly casting his gaze in the direction of the source, his eyes widened, ignoring the sting of dust in his eyes.

There in the distance, the image of Marin seemed to be standing on the sand, smiling toward him.

"M-…Marin…?" he called. She didn't answer, but beckoned him over with her hand.

Was it possible? Was she truly standing that short distance away? No, it had to be the heat. His exhaustion and the conditions of the desert were playing tricks on him. It was like finding an oasis, only seeing her was infinitely better than any oasis could be. Even though he knew it was impossible, the urge to make his way toward her was unbearable, and his legs began moving automatically toward her image.

As he wobbled toward her, calling out her name, Link failed to realize that he was not getting any closer to the woman he loved. Even when his legs gave out beneath him, he continued to crawl across the blazing sands, ignoring any sort of burns he might be getting on his skin. Pain didn't matter; he had to catch her. The idea that she was a mirage no longer crossed his mind, and he had reached the stage of believing she was truly standing a short distance away, though he had yet to reach her.

His delirious hope of catching up to her came to a halt as she began to turn around, though. He felt his heart sink as her image turned around and began walking away from him. If he allowed her to keep walking, she would disappear for the second time in his life. He couldn't accept that, not when she was so close!

"Marin!" he cried, racing on his hands and knees like an animal to catch her. It seemed that with each movement he made, she would get farther and farther away, and before he knew it, she was gone from his sight.

Realizing that he had no idea where she had gone, Link collapsed in an exhausted heap. His entire energy reserve had been wasted in a futile attempt to catch a mirage, and in the end it hadn't paid off. Sprawling out on his back, he had somehow failed to notice that he'd wound up next to a flag post of sorts. The red fabric flitted about in the wind, and it was possible that this was what he had been chasing after all this time. What this flag signified was now irrelevant, however, and whether it was a marker for crossing the desert or simply a stray flag left from long ago meant nothing for a dying man without the energy left to move an inch.

Shutting his eyes, Link sighed, feeling the cold embrace of death stealing away his consciousness. "Looks like I'll be seeing you again soon…Marin…"

And with that, he fell unconscious, completely unaware of the figures rapidly approaching him…

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Wow, that was way shorter than anything else I've written… I suppose it's more of a prologue than an actual chapter, but still, anything less than 4000 words for me is pretty uncommon.

Well, now that the story's been set up to start taking off, hopefully the whole LA/OoT Crossover thing makes sense, as I'm hoping it's obvious enough where he is right now. Next chapter will be Malon's debut, and the chapter should be significantly longer, as there are a number of things that will be going on in it.

Thanks to anyone who checked this out! Don't forget to leave a review!

_-GengaJupite_


	2. Talon and Malon

Well, for such a short start, I'm glad I've collected a small gathering of followers for this story. I'm not too sure how often I'll be updating, considering I'm in school and have three ongoing multi-chaps, but I'll try not to space updates too far apart from one another.

One note before I start, there is no Ingo in this fic. For a while I was debating whether or not to put him in, but eventually I settled for not having him. If for whatever reason I decide to include him, he won't have much of a role or even be working at Lon Lon Ranch.

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

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_Talon and Malon_

_The sound of waves filled the air, accompanied by the squawks of seagulls and the scent of the ocean. The atmosphere was warm, as if the sun was directing all its heat onto one spot. The smell of tropical fruits and fish wafted along the salty sea breeze, lifting up the spirits of any who may be fortunate enough to experience it._

_Slowly opening his eyes, Link's vision was clouded by a haze of some sort. Rubbing at them gently, the blurred scene reconstructed into what appeared to be the inside of a small home. As he looked around, the scene became more and more familiar, from the table in the corner of the room to the single bed on his right. Was this some sort of dream? It wasn't possible that he could have returned…_

_The sound of someone snoring caught his attention, and he glanced upwards to see a chubby man napping in a rocker while the sunlight streamed in through the window onto him. A large, round nose ruffled the man's moustache with each exhale, and the sound of his breathing was almost comically loud. Unable to find another way to react, Link chuckled lightly at the sight of Tarin, a man who had basically been a father figure while he lived on Koholint Island._

"_You're awake."_

_Quickly shooting his gaze toward the doorway, Link's heart nearly stopped at the sight his eyes were met with. Standing in the doorway with a small tub of water was the woman he thought he would never see again. She smiled at him so peacefully, as if he had never left, but he knew that it had been days, possibly even weeks since he had seen her. Was any of this possible, or had he died and reunited with her in the afterlife?_

"_M-Marin," he stuttered as she pulled a chair up next to the bed and sat beside him. "Is it…is it really you?"_

_She giggled and dipped a cloth into the water, wringing it out before she placed it on his forehead. "Of course it's me. This is my house, after all. Were you expecting someone else to be here?"_

_Link could not tell if she was messing with him. How could she act so nonchalant at a time like this? They had literally been separated in such a way that would make it impossible to see each other. Unless he was dead or this was some kind of dream, none of this could be real. This house, Marin, Tarin, the bed he was lying in, the entire island itself shouldn't even exist!_

"_How is this possible?" he asked, pulling his hands out from underneath the sheets to look at them. "This place…this island… Everything should be gone."_

"_Shh," Marin soothed, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Just take it easy right now. You need to rest, Link. Once you've regained your strength, I'll show you just how real all of this is. For now, just close your eyes."_

_As she stood up, Link quickly grasped onto her wrist. Turning back to him, she smiled and placed the water tub on her chair. Using her free hand to gently hold onto his tense one, Link felt himself relax a bit as their eyes met._

"_Marin…you won't…disappear again, will you?" he asked shakily, his hand trembling in fear of what might happen if he heeded her words._

_Marin shook her head and bent down over him, her long auburn hair dangling around his face. "I promise I'll be right here when you wake up. Have a little faith in me, love."_

_Link fully relaxed as she cupped his cheek in her hand. Her words worked wonders, even if he wasn't sure he could believe her. Slowly shutting his eyes, the hero felt his consciousness begin to fade, and as he slowly allowed the sleep to overtake him, he felt Marin's lips press softly against his own. As if placing him under a spell, the kiss sent him straight to sleep, and he did not even stay conscious long enough to feel her pull away._

∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆

"Hey now, it looks like he's comin' to! Mal, go fetch some milk!"

"Right!"

Link groaned as he stretched out his body. Had he even slept at all? It felt as though Marin had just sent him into his deep slumber only moments ago. Somehow, his body and mind still felt as though he had rested fully, but he could have sworn that he just fell asleep. In any case, it wasn't really an issue at the moment.

Before even opening his eyes, Link couldn't help crinkling his nose at the odd smell of wherever he was. To put it bluntly, it stunk of animal. Having taken care of a horse or two in the past, he knew all too well that one large animal could be rather pungent, but this was overwhelming. Cracking open his eyes, he was rather surprised to find himself in an unfamiliar setting. The walls were rather plain, adorned only by a few hanging pictures and a medium-sized window across from him. The bed he found himself lying in was coarser than he was used to, like a straw mattress of some sort. While Marin and Tarin's home had been nothing spectacular, this room seemed completely different despite also being rather unremarkable.

"You feeling all right there, son?"

Somehow Link had missed seeing the plump man standing beside him. The hero blinked a few times as he and the strange man partook in a brief staring contest. If not for the baldness and brown moustache, this man would look almost identical to Tarin. So taken aback was Link that he could not even begin to process what to say. It was clearly not Tarin, but the resemblance was uncanny, almost unnervingly so.

"Aw, geez, I really hope this kid knows Hylian…" the man muttered to himself while scratching his bald head. "Uh… YOU OKAY? FEEL GOOD? HURT ANYWHERE?"

As if the man's elevated volume had somehow released the lock on Link's vocal cords, he shook his head a bit before speaking. "Oh, y-yeah, I'm fine. I'm not hurt or anything."

The man sighed in relief upon hearing Link speak. "Phew, well, I'll be, you had me worried there, fella! Didn't seem like you were ever gonna wake up, and that means a lot comin' from someone like me. Trust me, my daughter would know."

The man laughed heartily with that slight quip to himself, but Link wasn't sure how he was meant to react. As he looked around the unfamiliar room, though, he felt his heart sink at the realization that his reunion with Marin had only been a dream. Of course, it was foolish to think that it had been real, but he truly had felt like he was there in her home again. Everything from the sound of the island to the touch of Marin's lips had been so vivid that it was like this was the dream and that was reality.

"So, you got a name?" the plump man asked once he had stopped laughing.

"Huh? Oh, it's Link."

"Link," the man repeated, putting his hand to his chin in a thinker's pose. "Kind of a weird name, but I'm not one to judge. Call me Talon. No need for a Mr. or anything, you'd make me feel old."

Not only did this man look almost identical to Tarin, but their names were almost the same, too! Link was pretty good with remembering names, but in a situation like this, he wouldn't be surprised if he ended up calling Talon by the wrong name.

"Um, sorry…but where are we?" Link asked, slowly sitting himself up.

"Hmm? Oh, I s'pose you'd be curious about that, given you were passed out when I found you."

"Found me?" Link tried to think back on what had happened since Koholint disappeared, but the only things he could recall were waking up in the middle of the ocean and then having that dream just now. Everything in between was wiped clean from his memory.

"Yup, out in the middle of the Gerudo Desert, no less," Talon whistled and took a seat on a stool next to the bed. "You're a lucky one, though. I haven't had to make a trip out there in who knows how long. There you were, though, collapsed on the sand by one of the marking posts. Those darn Gerudo women said they wouldn't have anywhere to keep you but a jail cell since you're a man. Sounds like a load of bull to me, and I know all about that stuff. Anyway, to answer your question, you're at the one and only Lon Lon Ranch, famous throughout all of Hyrule for our premium milk!"

Link's mind was racing as the last few words left Talon's mouth. The very idea that he'd been found only served to confuse the hero more than answer any questions he might have had. What was he doing out in a desert? How did he make it back to land from the middle of the ocean? Where exactly was this Lon Lon Ranch? Unfortunately, the more pertinent questions weren't ones that Talon could answer.

"I'm surprised by how healthy you are right now, though," Talon remarked, his expression showing his surprise. "You've been passed out for three days since I found you. Just what was a fit young sprout like you crawling around in the desert for?"

"I…I wish I knew," Link said in disappointment. "Honestly, I don't even recall making it onto dry land. The last thing I remember was being out in the middle of the ocean after…after…"

He felt his chest squeeze painfully as he recalled exactly why he had been out in the middle of the ocean. The memories of the actual event were still eluding him, but Link could feel the agony he had gone through as he clawed his way through the desert. To re-experience the emotional pain of hopelessly chasing a mirage through the burning, biting sands of the desert was more than he had prepared himself for. His ears began to block out the sound of Talon's concern as his mind filled with those last moments with Marin.

She was gone; it was all gone.

No, that wasn't quite right. She wasn't gone; she had never existed in the first place. He had fallen in love with an imaginary person, someone created by the unconscious thoughts of a sleeping god. There was no Marin, no Koholint, no anything; the only real things about that entire experience had been the Wind Fish and himself. Everything else was nothing more than a dream, no realer than the mirage he had chased through the desert.

Clutching at the back of his head with both hands, Link dropped his gaze to his lap, unable to find a better way to cope with the pain he was experiencing. After all the physical toil he had been through in his life, the only lasting damage was on an emotional level. How could he hope to pick himself up now? Why did Talon have to save him? It would have been better if he had perished in the desert.

"Dad? Is he doing okay?"

He froze as those words pierced through his deafened ears. Her voice; that was her voice!

Link's deafness to Talon's concerned words was suddenly broken by the sound of Marin's voice. Whipping his head up in the direction of her voice, he began to tremble as he gazed upon the redhead standing before him.

"M-…Marin," he breathed, shakily getting to his feet.

Without thinking, he suddenly rushed at her, grasping her hands in his. She squealed and dropped the tray of milk she'd been carrying, sending it crashing to the ground. Link didn't care, though. She was here in this place, the real world. How was it possible? It wasn't possible, but he didn't care. Her clothes were a little different and she didn't have an orchid in her hair, but she was the same girl he had fallen in love with! Marin was here!

"Hey, take it easy!" Talon said roughly, charging over and pulling Link away from the girl. "I don't care if you're recovering from a coma; no one rushes at my Malon like that!"

"Malon?" Link said, releasing her from his grip. "B-But…I thought…"

Upon realizing his mistake, his legs suddenly gave out from under him, and Link would have collapsed had Talon not been holding him up. With a few grunts of effort, Talon managed to drag Link back onto the bed. Once again rendered speechless, Link stared at Malon in disbelief, unable to comprehend how one could look so much like Marin. As he examined her more, however, her facial features began to differentiate, and he soon realized that his thoughts of Marin from before had simply tricked his mind into thinking it was her.

"I-I'm sorry," he managed to say as he ran a hand through his shaggy hair.

"D-Don't worry about it," Malon responded shakily, wringing her hands together. "No one got hurt, so it's fine."

The room was silent for a while after that. None of the three people knew what to say, so they simply remained where they were, as if frozen by the tension filling the air. Talon kept a sharp eye on Link, Link continued to stare at Malon, Malon nervously darted her eyes between her father and the hero. It wasn't until the sound of restless animals came in through the window that anyone made some sort of movement.

"Ah, shoot, gotta let them out for a while," Talon said as he hopped to his feet. "Mal, clean up this mess, will you? And you, Link; I don't know what your deal is, but I'll let this one slide since you've obviously gone through some rough times. For now, just rest up, but I'll be wanting an explanation later on."

"Yes, sir," Link complied, keeping his gaze fixed on Malon.

As both residents left the room, Link covered his eyes with his palms. Why did he do something like that? It was impossible for Marin to exist in this world and he knew it! Jumping up at some girl simply because she looked a bit like his lost love was completely reckless! He was lucky that Talon seemed to be such an understanding person, but there was no way another slip-up like that would be okay with him.

Link looked up at the sound of glass clinking into a pail. From the bed, he could only see the top part of Malon's head moving around as she picked up the pieces of shattered glass. Should he apologize to her again? He was afraid that saying something might scare her, and making her jump while there was broken glass around was probably a bad idea.

"Um," she mumbled from the foot of the bed, "are you feeling okay?"

Link cocked his head a bit as she peeked up at him. She really did look a lot like Marin, only her face was a bit different. Was this just some odd coincidence that Malon and Talon looked so much like Marin and Tarin, or was Link simply forcing himself to see them in such a way? Either way, it didn't really matter whether they looked like each other or not.

"I'm fine," he said quietly, averting his gaze. "Just a bit weak on my feet is all… I'm really sorry about that, though. I don't know…what I was thinking…"

"It's okay, really," she said sweetly, giving him a small smile. "Like I said, no one got hurt, and you must've had a reason for doing it. Besides, I have horses and cows running towards me all the time; you only startled me because you've been unconscious for three days."

He smirked a bit at the idea of being likened to a horse or cow. His gaze traveled back to the redhead as she stood to her full height. While it hadn't been his intention, he found himself admiring her looks. Though she did look quite a bit like Marin, there was a certain aura to Malon that made her seem much different than the girl from Mabe Village. Malon seemed more reserved than Marin had been, and she was clearly more fit, though that was somewhat a given considering she lived on a farm. Link couldn't quite get a good look at her figure with the loose dress she wore, but that was probably a good thing, as gawking would likely lead to Talon kicking him to the curb.

"I'll be back in a minute," she said, picking up the pail and mop she'd used to clean up the milk. Leaving and re-entering the room, Malon returned with a tall glass of milk to replace the one she had before. Placing it on the table next to Link's bedside, she took a seat on the stool where her father had been sitting before.

"Thanks," Link said and took a sip from the milk. Despite Talon's claims that this milk was famous throughout Hyrule, it really just tasted like regular milk.

"So, 'Link' was it?" Malon asked, to which he nodded in affirmation. "Nice to meet you. I'm Malon. If you don't mind my asking, is it true that my dad found you in the middle of the desert?"

"I have no idea," Link answered flatly, putting the glass back down on the table. "All I remember is waking up in the middle of the ocean with my boat in pieces. Next thing I knew, I woke up here without any memories in between."

"The ocean and then the desert, huh?" she mused, tapping her chin with her index finger. "Sounds like you don't have much luck when it comes to finding civilization."

"Guess not," he chuckled dryly, earning a giggle from her. "Hey, this might sound strange, but…have you ever heard of a place called Koholint?"

"Koholint?" Malon asked, cocking her head to the side. "I don't think so. Is that across the ocean?"

"Er…something like that," Link quickly brushed it off. He knew she wouldn't know about it; after all, it would be ridiculous to expect someone to know about an island that never existed.

"To be honest, I don't know much about geography," Malon admitted sheepishly. "I know my way around Hyrule, but anything outside this kingdom is a mystery to me. I don't have much interest in seeing all the stuff that's out there, though. I guess I'm not really the adventurous type."

"Things are simpler that way," Link said, casting his gaze downward. "I've traveled all around the world, and I was finally ready to settle down, but…some things happened and I wound up here instead."

"Did you not mean to come to Hyrule? That seems surprising, considering how far inland Dad says you were."

"It's not that I wasn't trying to find land, but…it's kind of hard to explain."

Malon eyed him curiously, and Link did his best to avoid making eye contact with her. He wasn't feeling quite ready to explain what he was doing out in the middle of the ocean, and it wouldn't matter even if he was. How was he supposed to explain a situation like the one he had been involved in? True, having encounters with gods and other guardian spirits was not as rare throughout the world as one may expect, but to attempt explaining that he was trapped within the dream of a giant, flying whale would probably get him labeled crazy. He'd already caused enough trouble for Malon and her father.

"Marin," Malon said quietly, causing Link to perk up at the sound of her name. "That's what you called me before, wasn't it?"

"O-Oh…yeah, it was," he spoke shakily, reaching for the glass of milk.

"Was she…someone from that place you mentioned before?"

Link paused for a moment, unsure if he should venture into this conversation. Was he ready to speak about Marin or his memories with her? Considering Malon didn't know much about the world, it would be simple enough to convince her that Koholint Island was real, but it felt too soon for him to return to that subject. At the same time, though, he felt obligated to give his caretakers some kind of explanation; after all, the two of them had saved him from death. While he realized that he had probably wanted to die in the desert he was saved from, Link understood that being saved and taken care of was not something he could treat lightly. The least he could do was give her a short version of his experiences.

"Yeah, I met her on Koholint Island," he spoke slowly and softly, taking a sip from his drink. "I…mistook you for her because you look strangely alike…"

"I see," Malon said, leaning forward so that her elbows were resting on her knees. "I suppose you had to leave her behind for some reason or other, then?"

"In a sense."

"Were you in love with her?"

"Yes."

No hesitation. The word slipped out of his mouth before he even had a chance to think about it; however, he doubted he would have answered in another way. What difference would it make if he pretended that he did not? It wasn't as though lying would make any sort of difference at this point.

"Well, in that case, I'm sure you'll see her again," Malon said cheerily, placing her creamy hand on his arm. He was surprised that her touch was so warm, despite the paleness of her skin.

"It's not that simple," he sighed, meeting her smile with a slight frown. "If I could go back and see her, then I would in a heartbeat, but…there are some circumstances that have made it impossible for me to see her again. I-I'd rather not talk about it…"

"Oh." Malon's cheerful tone turned slightly downcast as she removed her hand from him. "I-I, um… S-Sorry for bringing it up. It must've been hard…being separated from her."

They sat in silence for a while, neither quite sure what to say to the other. The awkward tension from bringing up such a sensitive subject left both of them at a loss for words. Suddenly switching to a different topic might only serve to further the awkwardness, so they simply allowed the sounds of livestock from outside to fill the room.

Link felt a bit guilty for shutting her down so quickly. He knew for a fact that he wasn't ready to go into detail about Marin, but somehow he felt that he had been too quick to avoid the subject. Perhaps if he had done so a bit more gently, then the tension would not continue to stagnate the room. Glancing at her from the corner of his eye, he could see that she was unsure where to look, constantly flicking her eyes between him and random places in the room.

"U-Um," Malon finally managed to say after what felt like hours of silence, "I-I don't know what your plans are…but you're welcome to stay as long as you need to. I'm sure my dad won't object, and it doesn't sound like you have anywhere to go right now. You might have to help out around the ranch if you plan to stay, though."

"Thanks," he responded quickly, keeping his focus away from her.

"A-And if you ever need someone to talk to…you can come to me. I don't have much experience when it comes to relationships and adventure, but I can at least listen to you if you need to vent or something. Dad'll probably lend an ear to you, too."

Turning to her, Link saw that Malon's cheeks were flushed and she was keeping her gaze fixed on her lap. He couldn't help but crack a tiny smile at how cute she looked. She definitely wasn't the best person for this, but he could see that she was trying, and just that gesture was enough to make him feel a bit better. There weren't many people who would so openly welcome a stranger into their home and help them back onto their feet, especially if that stranger had nothing to offer in return.

"Anyway, you should probably get some rest," she said and quickly stood up while brushing some non-existent dust from her dress. "If you need anything, just shout for one of us. It might seem a bit unorthodox, but it'll be quicker to do that than to try looking for us."

Nodding to her, Link watched as she quickly twirled around and exited the room. Now that he was alone in the room, he came to the realization that he wasn't actually tired. Was it that the three days' rest had replenished his energy? It was certainly possible, and would also help to explain why his legs had given out from under him earlier; after all, three days without use would likely have weakened them enough to make standing an effort.

Rather than heeding Malon and Talon's advice, Link swung his legs over the side of the bed and lightly placed them down. If he took his time, he would be able to wobble around the room at least. Carefully hoisting himself up, the hero felt his legs tremble slightly until he was standing straight up. Gingerly stepping around the room and towards the window, he looked out to see a number of horses running around the fenced area.

Link had not visited many farmlands in his travels, and found the new sight before him rather intriguing. Talon graciously brushed a horse's mane, completely unaware of another chewing on his overalls from behind. On the other side of the small field, a pony shakily wobbled onto its feet and attempted to trot along with some of the older horses. Just below where he was, Link could see Malon spreading grains or seeds of some sort for a flock of cuccoos. To the hero, happy animals in captivity had always seemed like an oxymoron, but the way each of these ones seemed to run and graze in such a carefree manner proved him wrong.

As a gentle breeze blew toward him, it carried a sweet melody along with it. Soothed by the calming sound, he looked down to where Malon was feeding the cuccoos. It was a simple tune that she was singing, but it carried so strongly and seemed to excite the animals as she worked. Link had never heard such an enchanting melody since Marin's Ballad of the Wind Fish, though he had already realized that her song was also something created by the Wind Fish itself.

Laying his head on the windowsill as the sun warmed his skin, Link closed his eyes and allowed the music to fill the atmosphere around him. Allowing only his aural and tactile senses to be stimulated, he relaxed and felt a calming sensation wash over his body and mind. Picturing the island in his head, he could see and sense Mabe Village, filled with happy people and Marin singing by the statue. Perhaps it wasn't real, but he wanted to stay in this peaceful moment for as long as he could. However, the visions slowly began to fade until only Marin stood before him, her song, or rather Malon's song, no longer filling his ears. Smiling her sweet smile at him, she closed her eyes and took deep breath.

"_Sweet dreams, Link."_

And before he had a chance to determine whether the voice was real or not, Link's consciousness slipped, leaving his slumbering body to rest on the windowsill in the light of the afternoon sun.

* * *

It felt longer while I was writing it than it actually turned out being, though I'm not upset with the length. Now that the story has begun, I think I'll be able to start writing chapters that are about this length and longer on a regular basis. Besides, the only way to truly build character relations are through chapters of a decent length, and there needs to be a whole lot of buildup if Link and Malon are going to get anywhere. Of course, his love for Marin needs to dwindle a bit for that to happen, but it's still early in the story.

So, other than one key character that won't show up until much later on, this is basically the main cast of the entire story. Unless I suddenly get inspiration to add someone else in as an important character that will help further the plot, anyone who hasn't appeared yet will probably just be a side character. Even that key character is more or less a side character, but their role is important later on. For now, don't even worry about them, though.

Thanks to **Arison Nakaru, MadSkillz, **and **9tailsfox2** for reviewing! I forgot to mention, and don't take this in a negative way, but I tend only to respond to long-ish reviews most of the time. It's easy enough for me to send out a PM to everyone who reviews that just says "Thanks!" if you leave a one or two line review, but it would seem redundant if I don't actually have anything to say in response. While I am perfectly content with receiving reviews of any sort and will thank everyone in the A/N, I want to make sure everyone knows my responding process so that they don't feel ignored or neglected.

Anyway, thanks for reading and please review!

_-GengaJupite_


	3. Finding Home

Ah, looks like it's getting around crunch time for school. Three more weeks until I'm finished, so updates might be slow or nonexistent until mid-April. After that, I'm hoping I'll be able to push out a few chapters for all of my stories before May, as I'll be working full time from then until the end of August and will only get a chance to update one story per week (if I'm lucky).

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

* * *

_Finding Home_

"_Well, I'm off to look for some mushrooms in the forest!"_

"_Okay, be careful, Dad!"_

"_Haha, when am I not careful?"_

_The sound of the door shutting was followed by a sigh from the girl who had stayed behind. "I don't think he's ever careful."_

_Inhaling deeply, Link opened his eyes and glanced around the room. Oddly enough, this was not the room he had fallen asleep in just moments ago. Within moments, he was able to recognize the comfy interior as Marin's house, but how he had ended up here was rather odd. Of course, he could only assume that this was some sort of dream, though he'd never found himself aware of his own dreaming before. Perhaps this was one of those lucid dreams he had heard about during his travels. It seemed that that could be the only plausible situation._

"_Good morning."_

_Link sat himself up and looked over to the redhead who was slowly sauntering herself toward him. With her signature smile and orchid in her hair, the hero could do nothing but smile back at her. Assuming this was a lucid dream, it would only make sense that he would recreate Koholint in his mind, as it was the home of his lover._

"_How are you feeling?" she asked softly, taking a seat on the edge of the bed._

_Link stretched out his arms and torso a bit, making sure that he could still move everything before answering. "I'm fine, better than fine, actually. I feel…alive."_

_Marin giggled and gently held his hand. "That's a funny thing to say, considering you've been sleeping as if you were dead. I don't think I've ever seen you sleep so soundly before."_

_Chuckling lightly, Link readjusted himself so that he was sitting next to Marin on the bedside. As he placed his feet on the ground, a strange tingling sensation spread through his legs, as if they had fallen asleep. Crinkling his nose in the slight discomfort, he attempted to add some weight to them, but stopped when they began to wobble._

"_That's strange," he mumbled, attempting to knead out his thigh muscles with the palm of his free hand. Despite this being a lucid dream, it seemed that his leg muscles were still as weakened as they were back in the waking world._

"_What's the matter?" Marin asked when she noticed him shifting his legs around._

"_O-Oh, it's nothing, really," he answered quickly, giving her a small, reassuring smile. "I guess I'm just not at my full strength right now. Seems like my legs are a little weak."_

"_Hmm," the redhead mused, placing a hand on his thigh, much to Link's surprise and embarrassment. "Well, Tarin isn't old enough to need a cane, so there isn't anything here you could use to move around with. I could run to the shop and buy you–… Link? Your face is all red… Are you feeling feverish?"_

"_N-No, it's just…your hand…" he said meekly, beads of sweat beginning to form along his hairline._

_Glancing down, Marin quickly realized how close she had placed her hand to Link's groin. Squeaking a bit, she immediately pulled her hand away and turned the other direction, mirroring his reddened cheeks. Despite sharing strong feelings for one another, Link and Marin had only ever gotten as far as kissing. Anything beyond that would have felt as though they were rushing into things, and even if it didn't, there was always the risk of Tarin coming home at the wrong time._

_Slowly craning their necks back toward each other, the two failed to suppress their laughter at the sight of the other's expression. Fully allowing their giggles to bubble forth, Link and Marin simply enjoyed the moment as they laughed effortlessly beside each other. This was right. This was how things should have been, should still be. If he could have lived like this, he would never have considered awakening the Wind Fish. He had been selflessly helping others for all his life, so what harm would a small amount of greed have done? He was only human, after all._

_Sadly, once their laughter had died down, Link's smile disappeared and, despite his efforts, he could feel his face drop. This could never be. This lucid dream may be the closest thing he could ever experience to being with Marin again, but he knew that his body in the real world was currently lying on a windowsill or perhaps had been moved back to the bed by Talon and Malon. This right here was nothing more than a figment of his imagination, the manifestation of his heart's desire. He could not marry a dream nor spend his life in an endless sleep._

_It hurt to feel Marin's soft, slender body lean again his. It hurt to have her here so close where she was practically with him again. It hurt to know that she was gone._

_No, it wasn't that she was gone; it was that she had never existed in the first place._

"_Link," she said breathily, nuzzling her head on his shoulder, "we'll be together from now on. Promise that you'll stay by my side."_

_The hero bit his lip and forced himself not to look at her. Could he promise something like that? Would it even make a difference if he made a promise to a dream? It wasn't as though he would be lying if he said something to what was essentially his own brain. The problem was that he did not want to lie to her, even if she was imaginary. A promise like that…it meant something genuine._

"_I…I want to, Marin," he said softly, keeping his gaze fixed away from her. "I want to tell you that we'll stay together…but I just can't promise it. I don't know what the future holds…and I've been on the move ever since I can remember. I care about you too much to make a promise I'm not sure I can keep."_

_He expected her to move off of him or react in some sort of way that would indicate she was hurt, but Marin did not do anything at all. For a moment, the two of them sat in silence, and Link began to feel slightly uncomfortable. However, it was not very long before Marin spoke in her gentle, soothing voice once again._

"_I see." Her words were not sad or angry; rather, she sounded the same as always. "I'm glad that you can tell me how you truly feel, even if it isn't what I necessarily want to hear. If that's how you feel, then I'll just have to do everything I can to fight for you and for us."_

_Link couldn't help but smile as she spoke. Marin's words were so empowering and heartfelt, and he found her resolve to be refreshing. Most people would get down on themselves from hearing a response as negative as his had been, but she was different. Whether his memory of her was making her act this way or his subconscious had made it so that she would not respond sadly, Link couldn't say for sure, but the fact that this was a dream seemed not to matter nearly as much as it had before._

_Turning toward her as she sat up straight, he watched as the redhead got to her feet and faced him._

"_First things first, we won't be able to do anything fun until you can walk," she said enthusiastically, a wide grin spreading across her face. "I'll step out to see if I can find a cane or something. Normally I'd tell you to stay here until I get back, but that's kind of why I'm going out. Heehee."_

_Smirking at her quip, Link waved to her as she bustled out the door. Without a way to move about on his own, the hero found himself stuck to the bed until either Marin or Tarin returned. With nothing else to do, he shrugged and laid himself out on the bed. The fact that he couldn't move his legs in his own dream still seemed rather odd, but it didn't really matter as long as he could spend time with Marin._

_Of course, he knew that it wouldn't amount to anything once he woke up from this dream. Would it even be possible to force himself to stay asleep? Eventually his real body and mind would be rested enough to the point where he physically would not be able to rest any longer. Doing the opposite was relatively simple when he thought about it, and he cursed the fact that it had to be this way. Even if he could find a way to sleep more often, there was no guarantee that he would get to experience another lucid dream, nor that he would even dream of Marin on each occasion._

_But that was reality. This was naught but a dream, both literally and figuratively. There were no loopholes or exploitations of life that he knew of; all that Link could do now was learn to accept what fate had brought him and cope with it._

∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆

"Good morning."

Link yawned and rubbed his eyes as he awoke to the sound of Malon's voice. The way she greeted was strangely similar to how Marin would do so, almost as if she were singing the words rather than speaking them.

"Or, rather, I should say good evening now," the farmgirl chortled as he opened his deep blue eyes to look at her.

Glancing around, it was clear to see that the sun had set only a short time ago, as the sky outside the window was painted in a myriad of reds and oranges. It took a moment for him to notice, but Link realized that he was back in the straw-mattress bed he had woken up in before. Assuming that one of them must have moved him when they found him sleeping in what must have been an awkward position on the windowsill, he didn't bother to ask what had happened.

"Sorry," he said a bit hoarsely, earning a confused look from Malon. "You told me to take it easy, and then I ended up trying to walk and passed out. I guess I was more exhausted than I thought."

Malon's expression lasted a bit longer, but quickly morphed into a warm smile as she waved off his apology. "Oh, don't worry about it. I kind of figured you'd try to move around; you don't really seem like the type to just sit and wait things out. Are your legs feeling okay?"

The blond glanced down and wiggled his legs around a bit, gently swinging them over the side of the bed as he sat up. Interestingly enough, they didn't feel the same way as they did in his dream. Here, they simply felt tired, as if he'd been running around all day yesterday and was now suffering the consequences, but they had felt asleep in his dream. It was unlikely that there was any sort of correlation between the two, but it did seem strange, nonetheless.

"I should be alright," he said softly, placing his feet on the ground. "If I walk slowly, I should be able to be back to normal in a few days. I don't have anything with me, but I promise that I'll pay you and Talon back somehow before I leave."

"You're too eager to leave, kid," Talon's voice sounded from outside the room. A few moments later, the stocky man stepped in with a tray of food for the three of them. "If you go running off right after you start feelin' better, you might collapse again and be right back to square one."

"It's not that I'm trying to get away from here," Link defended, dropping his gaze a bit. "I-It's just that…I'd hate to impose any more than I already have. You're already doing so much for me, yet we just met each other earlier today, not to mention that I didn't exactly make the best first impression."

"Hogwash," Talon said, placing the tray down and grabbing a piece of bread for himself. "Listen here, Link, you're not imposin' on anybody here. Mal and I are all about hospitality here, so making sure you get back to yourself the proper, healthy way is just what we do. Just 'cause you're a little down on your luck now doesn't mean that we're goin' to add to your troubles by charging you and whatnot."

"That's gracious of you, but–"

""But" nothing! Look, if you really feel like you need to pay us back, then get your legs workin' again and you can help out around the ranch. Who knows, you're a fit, good-lookin' kid, so if you turn out to be a good worker, I'll let you marry Malon!"

"Dad!"

Talon guffawed loudly and rocked on his chair as Malon and Link glanced at one another and quickly looked away, their faces coloured a deep crimson. Apparently Talon wasn't the overprotective father type that Link had imagined him to be. Besides, even if Talon had been serious about offering Malon's hand, Link doubted he would accept. At this moment in time, finding love seemed like an impossible feat, one that he had already accomplished and would never experience again. To say that it was better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all seemed like the conceited words of someone who had never experienced the loss.

"Heh, lighten up, you two," Talon said as his laughter died down. "If you're too uptight about a little joke then you'll both be old before I am. Anyway, I've got a delivery to make early tomorrow morning, so I'm gonna go hit the sack early tonight. Can you get the horses in the stables tonight, Mal?"

"Y-Yeah, no problem," she said quietly, still feeling a bit embarrassed from her father's joke. With a simple nod to both of them, the moustached man stood from his chair and yawned as he made his way through the doorway.

Now that it was just he and Malon, Link wasn't quite sure how he should feel. When they had been alone together earlier in the day, he hadn't felt uncomfortable, as she had only been there to clean up the glass. Now they were alone again, but the atmosphere had a tense awkwardness about it, multiplied by the lingering thoughts of Talon's stupid joke.

"U-Um," Malon began, breaking the uncomfortable silence in the room, "if you'd like, I can introduce you to some of the horses… Only if you're feeling strong enough to walk down, though."

Despite her offer, the manner in which she had asked helped very little to clear the tension in the air, and Link found himself unsure of how to respond. Thinking that the best route would be to lighten the mood a bit, he forced a smile and scratched his head.

"Oh? Are you trying to pin some of your work on me?"

Whether it was because of the tension or that Malon was jumpier than he was expecting, Link was surprised when she waved her hands in a flustered manner.

"N-No! I-I wasn't trying to imply that at all!" she defended, her face turning slightly pink. "You just seemed like…a horse person was all, so I thought you might want to… If you don't want to, that's fine! I just–"

"I'll go."

The redhead sent him a confused look as he cut her off, her hands frozen in front of her before she slowly set them down. Without a word, she stood from her chair at a snail's pace and shyly offered a hand to help him up. For a moment, Link only stared at her outstretched palm, a strange sense of déjà vu washing over him. Hadn't Marin helped him onto his feet in the exact same way when he first met her? He shook his head as if to rid his mind of those thoughts right now. Being depressed was only natural in his current situation, but this exact moment wasn't the proper time for him to feel that way. With all of his mental strength, Link carefully took Malon's hand and pulled himself up with her assistance.

It took some time to exit the house, especially while attempting to maneuver down the stairs without falling, but eventually Link was able to make his way out the front door with little reliance on Malon. Stepping onto the soft, grassy earth, Link followed Malon under an archway that led to the paddock he had seen from his window earlier.

While the sight he was met with wasn't particularly spectacular or breathtaking, Link felt intrigued by the number of horses within the fenced area. He had some experience with horses, but seeing so many in one place was new to him, and he didn't have a word to describe what sort of sensation he was feeling.

"Have you ever ridden a horse before?" Malon asked as she opened the gate leading into the corral.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, a few times in the past," he replied and slowly followed after her. "I doubt I'm in any condition to try it right now."

"Well, that was sort of a given," she chuckled, shutting the gate behind him. "I guess I was right when I said you liked horses?"

He shrugged in response, trying to count the number of horses they were keeping here, though he had to assume that there were none in the stables already. "You could say that, but it's really more like I'm indifferent. I've never really seen them as anything more than helpful animals."

"That sounds like most people's opinions," Malon mused, stroking one's mane as it trotted over to her. "I think people only think that way because they've never had to interact with horses. They're really smart, lovable creatures if you take the time to get to know them. Someday, I hope that I can show a lot of people just how wonderful they are. It isn't good to only think of horses as convenient tools for people to use, so I'll just have to fight to make sure that people can understand that."

"_I'll just have to do everything I can to fight for you."_

Link clutched at his head as Marin's words from the dream echoed in his head. Luckily, Malon was turned the other way, so she wouldn't think that he was in some sort of pain.

Why did that line have to surface just now? Was it because of how similar it sounded to what Malon was saying? It seemed rather odd to liken himself to a horse if he were comparing the different things that both redheads were fighting for. In any case, he had been trying to suppress his thoughts of Marin, and even having memories from his dreams reappear was too much. Taking a moment to calm himself down, Link forced his thoughts of Marin into the recesses of his mind and glanced back at Malon just as she was turning around to face him again.

"They like it when you sing to them," she said sweetly, patting the horse as it began to wander in the other direction.

"Sing?" Link inquired, hoping that this new conversation topic would take his mind off of Marin.

"Mhm," she hummed. "Well, they like it when I do, at least. Dad's never really been the singing type, so he always gets me to do it whenever they get restless."

"What about your mom?"

Malon didn't reply right away, and Link feared that he might have said something rather insensitive. While she didn't appear sad or unhappy in any way, the smile that was on her face sank into her regular expression. As he opened his mouth to apologize, he held his breath as the redhead took a deep breath and shut her eyes. Before he had the chance to do anything, a soothing melody began flowing out of her.

The tune floated on the air, as if wafting around and calming any tension in the atmosphere. While it was a simple melody and contained no words, the hero felt his body ease up, eradicating the feeling that he had done something wrong. It was strange that a tune so simplistic compared to the complex song Marin always sang could have such an impact on him.

It took a moment for him to realize that Malon had stopped singing, as the sound of her voice continued to echo in his head, but when he realized, he noticed the redhead giving him a soft smile.

"It's my mother's song," Malon said before Link could ask what it was. "She always used to sing it to me when I was a kid. Her dying wish was that I would sing it for her before she died. At the time, I was too young to understand what was happening, so I just held her hand while she lay in bed and sang to her. Dad cried beside me, and all the while I thought she was just sleepy. When I figured out what had happened, I was so upset, but I could never forget the way she shut her eyes with a smile on her face, and in a strange way it made me happy. Letting go was the only thing keeping me from moving forward with my life, so I made sure to let all of my emotions out one day so that I could move on with no regrets."

Her words struck him harder than any enemy attack had ever managed to. Even as a young child, Malon was able to grieve for her mother and move on quickly. What sort of resolve did it take for a child, no, a person of any sort to effectively come out of such a tragedy? He certainly didn't have the capacity to do so. Even if he vowed to steel himself from here on out, Link doubted that he would be able to simply move on from Marin just like that.

In the time it had taken for Malon to complete her song and for Link to fall into deep thought, a number of horses had already gathered in front of the redhead, nuzzling their faces against her to show their affection. She giggled and lightly stroked each one of them, her hands moving in strong but gentle movements.

Without warning, Link suddenly felt a rough tapping on his shoulder and then his head. Turning in the direction away from Malon, the blond realized that a reddish-brown horse was prodding him. As he took a step away from it, the horse exhaled and stepped toward him so it could continue.

"H-Hey, cut it out," Link said, using both hands to gently push the horse's nose away from him. Since it appeared undeterred by his actions, he began to use a bit more force, though it seemed that this only spurred the horse to return with an equal amount of force.

"Heehee, that's a first," Malon giggled, forcing Link to direct his attention to her instead of the horse. "Epona doesn't like to play with strangers, but she went over to you without even coming over to me first."

"This is supposed to be playing?" Link complained, now using almost all his strength to repel the horse. "W-What am I even supposed to do in this situation?"

Malon giggled again, amused by Link's failing attempts to push Epona away from himself. "Do? You don't have to do anything, Link. She's just playing, so let her do what she wants. If you're really lucky, she might even let you ride her, which is saying something since she only lets me get that far."

As animated as Malon might have been about this situation, Link simply wanted to be out of it. At this point, his hands were pretty much covered in horse saliva and mucus, though he very much hoped that there was none of the latter. Eventually his strength and stamina had reached their limit, and Epona was able to push him down with a simple shove. Feeling defeated, Link sprawled himself out on the ground and allowed the horse to smell his face to no end. It certainly wasn't a favourable situation, but he couldn't help smirking as Malon giggled by the other horses. Something about seeing her laugh after telling such a sad story made him feel warm, even if he did have an overly curious creature smelling and drooling on his face.

It took a while, but Malon made her way over to him after a while and was able to shoo Epona off to the side so she could help pull the hero to his feet. Once he was up, the redhead reached into her side pocket, retrieving a large handkerchief with which to wipe his face with.

"Sorry I didn't help you up sooner," she laughed girlishly. "Just the way you looked so helpless at the mercy of a cute horse like Epona made me want the moment to last longer. She's completely harmless, but the way you were acting made her seem like some kind of overbearing monster."

"You're exaggerating," he responded when she finished unnecessarily cleaning his face for him. "I was just a bit surprised by how strong she was. I had a feeling I might get knocked over, but I was really putting all of my strength into preventing her from doing so."

"Yeah, well, I don't know what it is, but she's always been quite a bit stronger and healthier than the other horses. It might be because she's a different breed, but she still shouldn't be _that_ much different from the others, considering she was raised here just like all the others. In any case, you should just be grateful that our prized horse likes you as a playmate!"

"I can hardly contain my excitement."

Malon smirked at him and suddenly grabbed onto his wrist, much to the hero's surprise and slight embarrassment. Pulling him toward the other horses while Epona followed suit, Link just watched as Malon lightly smacked them on the side and told them to head to the stables. The way they listened was almost as if they completely understood what she was saying, though it was likely that she and her father did this so often that it was a daily ritual that had engraved itself into the animals' minds.

"Anyway, we came out here to move the horses to the stable," she said, letting go of his wrist and quickly pulling herself up onto Epona's back. "I can round most of them up, but if you want to help, just hobble yourself over to the horses, give them a little smack on their side and tell them 'Home'."

Without waiting for so much as a nod of affirmation, Malon immediately took off and began rounding up the horses as if they were sheep or goats. Shaking his head, Link smiled and slowly headed toward a group of horses opposite of where Malon had just run over.

"Letting go, huh?" Link mumbled to himself, quoting some of Malon's earlier words. "Moving forward…with no regrets…"

It almost seemed an impossible feat to accomplish right now, but perhaps if he gave himself a bit of time…no, he would need quite a bit of time. Regardless, if he could have time to let go, perhaps even have an emotional day like Malon had allowed herself, then it would help him to move on. It wasn't sure to work, but the thought seemed a lot more pleasurable than moping about and trying to push his false memories of a nonexistent girl into the recesses of his brain. With that thought in mind, Link smiled as he approached the horses and gestured for them to return to the stables.

"Home."

* * *

It took me a while to actually write all of it, but I definitely got into the flow of writing when it got to the second half of this chapter. I'm not sure why exactly, though I'm guessing it's because the base work for the Malink got established. Either way, I'm just going to hope that I can keep with the flow of things as the story progresses and heads into one of the big plot points.

Thanks to **9tailsfox2 **and **MadSkillz **for reviewing!

Thanks for reading and please review!

–_GengaJupite_


	4. Talk of the Past

Nice, I'm done all my exams and have a whole two weeks to do nothing! It definitely put me behind on my writing, but I'll try to get a couple chapters out before I start working full time. Can't really promise an exact update rate once May comes around, but hopefully it'll be something like one chapter every two weeks, though it seems more likely to be every three.

Oh, and before the chapter starts, I just want to clear something up, as it's come up with more than one person. The Wind Fish's dream was not Link's. All the stuff that happened in the Wind Fish's dream was the Wind Fish's, and Link's dreams now are his own subconscious recreations of Koholint. I'm not sure if it was a wording issue or simply a misunderstanding, but just know that it wasn't all Link's dream.

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

* * *

_Talk of the Past_

A week had gone by since Link first awoke at Lon Lon Ranch, and he was nearly back to his full strength. While he still found that his stamina was a bit paltry and his affinity for animals had lessened, the hero was more or less back on his feet and able to perform to the abilities of a regular person. If nothing else, his caretakers made no comment of his inability to perform daily tasks.

Though it had only been one week, Link had gotten into the habit of helping with the usual duties that Malon and Talon performed. Milking the cows, collecting cucco eggs, and tending to the basic needs of the animals were only a few of the tasks he had begun growing accustomed to. While he still planned on departing once he felt his debt had been repaid, Link enjoyed this short break from adventuring. Experiencing a settled life was more relaxing than he imagined it to be.

As he brushed the side of one of the cows, Link felt his face drop into a frown. He wasn't sure what was causing it, but ever since he had arrived here, his dreams seemed to act like a single, continuous dream: picking up where they had left off each time he woke into the real world. He had heard of recurring dreams before, but none of these were the same as the previous, as each time something would happen in one dream, the next would be affected. Of course, it was nothing to get worked up over or cause worry for, but it was making the idea of letting go of Marin incredibly difficult, especially since he was sure to see her each time he went to sleep.

Many times, Link had contemplated telling Marin about the real world. After all, if she was just a figment of his subconscious, then learning that shouldn't confuse her. Besides, even if something bad happened, it wouldn't matter, as he would continue to wake up in this world. It was likely that these dreams would eventually cease, and then it would no longer matter what he did or said to Marin now.

"Oh, here you are!"

Link turned towards the source of the voice, his train of thought broken by Malon's entrance.

"Here I am," he mirrored her. "Did you need me for something?"

"Not really," the redhead stated, sauntering her way over to where he was. "I just finished all of my tasks for the day and thought you might want a hand."

"Well, I was just grooming the cows," Link said, glancing around the barn before looking at her again, "but I'll be finished after this one here. Is it right for us to be finished working so quickly?"

Malon giggled a bit and petted the cow. "There's no harm in finishing early. You're a bigger help than you probably think, Link. Splitting up the work between three people is better than two, especially since Dad has to leave a lot to make his delivery trips."

"I see."

Link felt his gaze unconsciously drifting to the redhead beside him as he continued brushing the animal before him. Over the past week, Malon had grown much more comfortable around him, more so than he could say he felt around her. It wasn't that he found it awkward to be around Malon, but Link was unable to lower his guard as quickly as he would have liked to. Even after she and her father had already proven their kindness during his stay, the best he could do was remain somewhat stoic around them.

"Well, well, what are you two kiddos doin' alone in the barn?" Talon's voice teased from the entryway. "I know you're young and energetic, but this place isn't exactly the best to start gettin' cozy."

"Are you ever going to give that up?" Malon sighed as they turned to her father. "It seems like the two of us can't even be in the same room without you making some kind of silly remark."

"Silly remark? Ouch, that's gotta sting, Link."

"It's no trouble, really," Link answered flatly, having learned that the best way to deal with Talon's jokes was to brush them off.

As expected, the moustached man sighed and shook his head, having lost the mood for having fun. "One day you kids are gonna regret being so serious. Sprouts like you are supposed to be enjoyin' your youth."

"Did you want something, Dad?" Malon asked, basically ignoring everything he had just said.

"Oh, that's right!" the bald man perked up, smiling widely under his moustache. "Since the work is all done and it's only about noon, I thought it might be a good idea if you showed Link around, gave him a tour of the sights."

"The sights?" Link asked, glancing out one of the windows. From what he had seen, there didn't seem to be much of anything around this ranch. Off in the distance there was a mountain and a castle of some sort, but other than those, they didn't seem to be near anything.

"Are you sure that's all right?" Malon asked, also glancing out the window. "We wouldn't have enough time to go to more than one place, and even then we wouldn't be back until nightfall. Are you okay with handling the animals on your own?"

Talon snorted and crossed his arms. "Heh, Mal, I've been wrasslin' with animals since before you were born. I doubt any of these rascals will give me much trouble. Why don't you go ahead and take Epona. You and Link can take the cart and have a picnic someplace or other."

While he hadn't been direct about it, the tone of his voice and smirk on Talon's face were enough to imply that he wanted them to treat it romantically. Link and Malon avoided looking at each other as their faces reddened, though they were unable to get angry at Talon since he did not directly say what he had meant.

Having said what he came there to say, Talon chummily headed off, whistling the same tune that Malon liked singing to the horses. Given that they had been put in similar situations all week, the tension in the barn was quick to die down, and Malon quickly regained her composure.

"Well, he was being dumb about it, but I wouldn't mind showing you around Hyrule. You've never been here before, right?"

"Hard to say," Link chuckled lightly, completing his brushing of the cow. "There are actually a few places called Hyrule on the other side of the ocean. I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've been to this one in particular, though."

"Huh, that's kind of weird," Malon mused. "In any case, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to bring some food along if we're headed off somewhere. Do you have any preferences?"

"No, anything's fine. Your cooking tastes great, no matter what you make."

The redhead blushed, making Link feel a bit odd about what he had just said. It wasn't meant as something to make her feel embarrassed; he genuinely liked the food she made. It was reminiscent of Marin's cooking, the main differences being the style of cooking food on a tropical island versus on a farm.

"O-Okay, I'll just whip something together, then," she said shakily before quickly heading off towards the house.

Watching her head off, Link shook his head once she was out of sight. Why did he have to compare all the things Malon did to the things that Marin did? He knew both of them well enough at this point to see just how different they were from each other, even if they looked a bit similar.

He had been doing his best to make peace with Marin's existence, or rather her lack thereof, but it always seemed that something about her would spring to mind whenever he would go a certain period of time without thinking of her. The continuous dream was challenging enough to deal with, but being unable to control his own thoughts was brutal. How was he supposed to forget about her when he knew he truly did not want to? Was this some sort of punishment? All his life he had fought for good, but perhaps something had been flawed along the way.

Picking up the pail and other supplies he had been using, Link shuffled his way out of the barn, placing the supplies by a water pump that he would use to clean them out later. Wiping his boots off on the doormat, he entered the house.

"Oh, Link," Malon called to him from the kitchen. "I've got my hands a bit full here. After you wash up, can you go get Epona and the cart ready? You know how to do that, right?"

"Sort of," he answered back and began making his way up the stairs. "I can get Talon to show me if I need help."

"Okay, thanks!"

With that, the blond continued heading up the stairs, making his way to where the bath was. He already knew that Malon would have heated one for him, so it came as no surprise when he opened the door to find steam floating about inside. Shutting the door behind him and stripping off the tattered clothes he'd borrowed from Talon, Link wasted no time in settling himself into the hot water.

After quickly washing his body, the hero changed his clothes and made his way to the paddock, where Talon was sitting under a tree as he watched the horses graze and trot around. Upon noticing Link's appearance, the stocky man awkwardly stood up and made his way over to him.

"So, you two decided where you're gonna head off to?" Talon inquired.

"Not sure," Link said while shrugging. "It's not like I have any real say; I've never been here before."

"Hahaha, very true, very true," Talon guffawed, throwing his head back as he did so. "But you know, this could be a very good opportunity for you."

Link sighed lightly, but a thought other than brushing it off crossed his mind. "Old man, can I ask you something?"

"Hmph, not sure how I feel about this "old man" business, but shoot."

Beginning to walk over to the stables where the cart was stored, Link made sure not to make eye contact with Talon. "Well, I've been wondering… You seem to joke around a lot when it comes to Malon and me, but are you really trying to push us together like that?"

There was a silence that ensued between them, and Link cautiously cast a look at Talon's face. At first, the man seemed ready to make some kind of joke, probably along the lines of "Oh, are you interested?" but the smirk was slowly evaporating into a more serious look. He actually looked like a concerned father at this point.

"Let me tell you something, Link," Talon started, clearing his throat. "I've been living on this ranch since the day I was born. My family's been taking care of this place for generations now, and we've always been happy doing so. When Mal was born, it was probably the happiest day of my life…no, it was most definitely the happiest day of my life.

"It was only the three of us, but Mal, my wife, and I loved every second of it. Mal was becoming the perfect little farm girl, even scolding me when I got lazy or dozed off in the middle of work. We were laughing and smiling every day and it seemed like nothing could go wrong. Of course, that all ended when my wife got sick.

"It never struck me before, how vulnerable we are to the world around us. Because I'd grown up with the animals, I had always been a bit stronger than most folks. Only the strongest of diseases could get to me, so I never even thought about what it'd be like for someone who hadn't grown up here. 'Course, my wife wasn't quite so durable.

"After she died, I got to thinking, what would happen to Mal if I someday got sick? Sure, she and I were born and raised here, but my health would probably take a hit as I got older. Could I leave her, my only daughter, alone in this world like that? She's twenty now, but that's still too young to leave her all by herself, especially since she's spent her whole life with me. I'm not trying to say that it has to be you, but it would put me at ease if she had someone in case things take a turn for the worst."

Link was silent as they began attaching Epona to the smaller of two carts. How was he meant to respond to such a story? He had never imagined that Talon's teasing held a much deeper intrinsic meaning. Thinking on it now, he even began to feel slightly guilty for always brushing the man's jokes off.

"Eh, don't get yourself all down about it, though," Talon suddenly said, his voice and face as animated as usual. "As far as you're concerned, I'm not dyin' anytime soon, you hear? 'Til then, you better make sure you're worthy o' being my Malon's!"

Cracking a small smile, Link shook his head and patted the cart gently. "Whatever you say, old man."

Talon chuckled, making sure his side of the cart was correctly hooked on. "About all that, though; you really do seem like her type, y'know. It'd be a shame if she couldn't meet another fella as compatible with her."

Compatible? From his perspective, Link thought that his relationship with Malon was still more like that of an acquaintance than anything else. What exactly gave Talon the idea that they were right for each other, or was he trying to mess with him again? Judging by the look on the bald man's face, he was being serious this time around.

"Maybe so, but I'm afraid it won't work out," Link said, turning his gaze to the rolling green hills in the distance. "Don't get me wrong, I like Malon, but not that way. I think the only reason I might have ever thought of her as anything more is because of your teasing and because…she reminds me of someone I used to know…someone I used to care about very much…"

"I see," Talon said quietly, sounding almost fatherly as he did so. "That's a darn shame, but if it can't be helped, then it can't be helped. Still, don't think that it'll make me stop teasin' you!"

Turning back towards Talon, Link grinned. "I think I'd be more concerned if you stopped."

∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆

The cart bumped along the endless green pastures, bouncing as the wooden wheels rolled over small pebbles or bumps along the way. There weren't many worn paths around, it seemed, so anyone who might be travelling by cart simply had to deal with the bumps along the natural landscape. Not that Link minded, as this was much more preferable than walking to wherever they were headed.

It was a perfect day to spend outdoors, and Talon's suggestion for a picnic was actually rather appropriate, even if his ulterior motives were not. Link took a deep breath as he gazed up at the blue skies overhead, noting the few wispy clouds that thinned around the edges. The air was comfortably warm, cool enough that he could keep his sleeves down.

Beside him, Malon handled the cart like she had done this hundreds of times, which was probably the case. Allowing Epona to move at a slow gallop, there was no worry of tiring the horse out and they appeared to be heading toward their destination at a relatively quick pace, though Link still was unaware of where they were going.

"You're not afraid of water, are you?" Malon asked as they bumped along.

Link gave her a confused look before his lips curled up into a sarcastic smirk. "Well, considering I was alone out on the open ocean in a dinghy, I wouldn't say I am."

Malon's cheeks turned a bit pink, but she chuckled. "Oh, that's right. Heehee, I'm not sure how I forgot that, but you might've been scared since you almost drowned out there, right?"

"Fair enough, but I'm okay with water," he said. As thoughts of why he had almost drowned in the ocean began creeping into the forefront of his memory, Link quickly steered the conversation another way, "Are we going somewhere with a lot of water?"

"Yeah," the redhead answered simply, pulling on the reins a bit as they began descending a hill. "I was thinking about where I could show you first and decided that Lake Hylia would be a nice place to start. There's a lot to see around there too, so it won't be hard to spend an entire afternoon there."

"Mm," Link hummed, unsure completely how to respond since he had no idea what the area was like. He wouldn't have had many objections to anywhere she decided, so it seemed like the most basic way to answer.

It was a little under an hour when they passed under the archway in the canyon entrance. Slowing their pace as the lake came into view, Link gazed upon the round lake. He couldn't help noticing how open it seemed despite being completely surrounded by high cliff walls. Other than a single building, a few pillars in the water, a very small patch of farmland, and the bridges connecting some small islands, everything surrounding the lake seemed completely governed by nature.

Stopping the cart by the water's edge, Malon and Link hopped out of the cart to unhook Epona. Once freed, the powerful steed dipped her face into the lake water before grazing on the grass.

"I hope you're hungry," Malon said as she grabbed the basket off of the cart. "I accidentally made more than I was planning to."

"Don't worry about it," Link replied as he laid out the picnic blanket. "I like your food, so it's not like I'll be forcing myself to eat it or anything."

Only giving him a slightly bashful smile in return, Malon slipped off her shoes and sat down on the blanket. Preferring to keep his boots on, Link simply sat with his feet resting on the grass. In a comfortable silence, the two wordlessly began eating, gazing around at the sparkling waters and greenery.

"Hey," Malon said after a while, catching Link's attention, "if you don't mind my asking, what kind of places have you been to, Link? You're an adventurer, so I bet you have a whole bunch of stories to tell."

Swallowing the piece of sandwich that was in his mouth, Link stroked his chin as he thought back on all the things he had done. "Hmm, I don't really know where to start…"

Before he knew it, he had begun retelling some of his most exciting stories, trying his best to downplay some of the more heroic parts so as not to seem the least bit narcissistic. Malon of course, listened with wide eyes and comments of amazement, fully believing everything that he said. He was actually rather surprised at the ease with which she accepted some of the more extraordinary details of his tales. In truth, he had expected her to suspect him of lying or exaggerating, especially for some of the magic-involving parts, but she never once raised an eyebrow to anything he told her.

"And that's pretty much the last thing that happened before Talon found me in the desert," he said, sighing as the feelings of nostalgia washed over him. "I never really thought about it before, but I've done a lot of stuff…"

"I'll say," Malon giggled, shifting her weight so she could lean back on her arms. "I thought that travelling around Hyrule was a lot, but you've spent at least half your life doing all kinds of crazy things. Still, as amazing as you made it all sound, I don't think that's the kind of lifestyle for a simple girl like me."

Blinking, Link turned to look at the water, watching as the sunlight reflected off the wavy surface. "I think I'd be more surprised if someone _did_ want to live out that kind of lifestyle. When I tell it like I did just now, it sounds like some kind of heroic fairytale, but honestly it's just exhausting. I mean, before coming here, I was ready to settle down on Ko–"

The words caught themselves in his throat, preventing him from finishing his sentence. He hardly even noticed as Malon leaned forward to see if he was all right. His face was frozen, but it was because he did not want to show the emotion that threatened to burst from him if he dwelled on that thought for too long.

He wanted to let go of the past, the dream, everything that was now causing him anguish. He wanted to treat those false months as the single night that they had been, leaving them behind as nothing more than an odd dream. After all, there was no point in remembering anymore: not about Koholint, not about the Wind Fish, and certainly not about Marin.

Link could feel his vision begin to mist, and he clenched his hands tightly, hoping to distract his head with the pain of his nails digging into his palm. He couldn't keep dwelling on this; he had to prevent himself from being hurt by it anymore. Was it possible? Whether it was or not, Link knew that he could not continue on like this.

"Link?" Malon said, finally managing to capture his attention. Blinking back his tears, he flicked his eyes in her direction, feeling a pang of guilt at the concerned look on her face.

"S-Sorry," he apologized, "I lost myself for a moment just then."

She shook her head and gently took his hand in both of hers, causing him to look down in surprise. "No, don't apologize. I'm sure…it must have been hard… You told me before that you had to leave her; I can't even imagine what that must have been like, especially after all you've been through."

As if by some kind of healing spell, her words seemed to pass through her soft hands and flow up into him, calming his wounded soul. Link could feel his body relax, though it would be false to say that he was feeling completely better.

"Link, if…if there's any way that I can help you, don't hesitate to ask. I'm not trying to overstep my boundaries or invade on your private matters, but I want you to know that I'll be here if you ever need anything."

Looking up from their hands to Malon's face, Link could see the serious, caring soul through her deep blue eyes. She had the same spirit as Marin, and yet at the same time the two were nothing alike. Marin had taught him the meaning of love, and now Malon was doing her best to heal the pain of losing that love. For a moment, a very brief moment, Link thought back on what Talon had told him earlier, and the possibility of the idea flashed momentarily in his mind.

After staring at each other for a while, Malon's pale cheeks suddenly reddened and she quickly removed her hands from Link's in a flustered manner. Tensely placing them in her lap, she stared at the ground, seemingly too embarrassed to look the hero in the eye.

"O-Oh, p-please don't misinterpret what I said," she stammered. "I-I was only trying to let you know that…that you don't have to do everything alone. If you don't want my help, that's p-perfectly fine too; I just–"

She was cut off by Link firmly placing his hand on her head. Lightly ruffling her hair, he smiled softly as she flicked her eyes up at him.

"Thanks, Malon," he said quietly, continuing to tousle her hair. "You may be a little awkward when it comes to getting your point across, but your heart's in the right place. It made me feel a lot better, actually; you're a good kid."

Giving him an angry smirk, she swatted the hero's hand away and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Hmph, I'm not a kid, and you can't be that much older than me! If anything, I'm older than you are!"

Grinning back at her, Link chuckled. "Oh? I'm twenty-one, so that makes you a kid to me."

"Well…I'm twenty-two!"

"Your dad said you were twenty."

"H-He just forgot because he's getting old."

"I think you're forgetting because you're a dumb redhead."

"It's dumb blond!"

"See? You've even forgotten the colour of your own hair."

"Rrgh, you're an annoying old man, aren't you?"

"You shouldn't speak so disrespectfully to your elders."

Laughing and making playful jabs at one another, the two quickly forgot their troubles, allowing the mirthful atmosphere to ease their souls. Spending a great deal of their time simply talking, they did not realize how long they had been at the lake until the sky was painted with oranges of the sunset. Packing up the blanket and empty basket, they hastily attached the cart back to Epona and made their leave of Lake Hylia. By the time they were back, the stars had already blanketed the moonlit sky.

"Well, getting back a little late, I see," Talon jeered as they passed through the Lon Lon Ranch entrance. "Lost track of time?"

"I said we'd be back after nightfall," Malon stated, though her voice was still a bit bubbly from before.

"Heh, whatever it was you kids were doing, I think I'd rather not hear about it," he chuckled, waddling inside the house as they went to put away the cart and Epona.

Once they were back inside, Link headed upstairs to change into his nightclothes. Despite growing accustomed to sleeping in his daytime clothes, he had no say in the matter, as he was now sleeping in a bed each night and could not be so rude as to sleep in the clothes he had been working in all day. Even if Talon's clothes were a bit too wide and sometimes too short for him, Link graciously accepted the generous offer. Only able to find his sleeping shorts, the blond carefully glanced around the room to scout out the shirt.

"Eep!" someone squeaked from the door. Quickly turning around, Link spotted Malon with one hand over her eyes and the other holding some kind of large grey cloth. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't know you were changing…"

"Oh, uh, don't worry about it," Link answered awkwardly, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "Did you need something?"

Keeping her eyes covered, Malon held up the grey thing. "I forgot that I washed this today and was bringing it up to you."

Cocking his head to the side, Link then realized that she was holding his sleeping shirt. Chuckling breathily, he stepped over to her and took it.

"Thanks," he said coolly. "You know, you don't have to get embarrassed about me without a shirt on. If it were my pants, then that would be a different story, but this is nothing to be nervous about."

She didn't react at first, but after a moment or two, he noticed Malon's fingers spread apart as she peeked at his shirtless torso. Thankfully, she didn't seem put off by his words, as he realized afterward that it may have sounded like he was egging her on, possibly even harassing her. As she slowly lowered her hand, he smirked and moved the shirt around to find the bottom hole.

"Are your arms okay?" she asked, causing him to look at her in surprise before he could slip the shirt on. "You always wear long sleeves, so I've never noticed those scars on your upper arms before."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Link asked as he tried to bend in a way that would allow him to see his triceps.

"They're right here," she said, moving to poke the spot on his triceps where the scars were. "Here, I'll grab you a mirror."

Moving over to the bedside table, Malon pulled out the drawer and retrieved a hand mirror. Handing it to Link, the hero crossed his arm in front of him and held the mirror in his other hand to look at the reflection. Just as Malon had said, some odd scars were on his arm, and after switching arms, he noticed that there seemed to be more on his left side than his right.

"Now that I look at them," Malon said, examining them more closely. "They don't really look like scars at all. They're like…some kind of markings I can't understand. Have you ever seen a language like that?"

Trying to mentally flip the image on the mirror to see if he recognized the markings, Link slowly shook his head. "…No… It's weird, though… They seem familiar, but I can't read them and I don't think I've seen these kinds of characters anywhere before."

The longer he examined them, the more Link grew confused by their sudden appearance. Given their location on his body, it seemed natural that he would not have noticed them before, but how had they gotten there? He could not recall any incident that could have possibly left such markings on his arms. Was it possible that these were not actual characters, and that something had happened while he was in the desert that led to these markings that resemble a language being marked on his arms? It was incredibly improbable, but Link had no other explanation for it.

"Well, as long as they aren't causing you any pain, I suppose it doesn't really matter what they are," Malon said after a while, realizing that they weren't going to figure anything out just by staring at them. "Anyway, it's getting late, so I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Link."

"Yeah, 'night," he responded automatically, keeping his eyes fixated on the mirror image. Even after he heard the door shut behind Malon, Link continued examining the strange marks, growing more curious by the moment as he stared at them.

"Asymmetrical markings," he said to himself, counting the greater number of markings on his left arm compared to his right, "but the ones that line up are the same…"

Was there some reason for this symmetrical asymmetry? Perhaps the cause of whatever put them there did not have the time to fully mark both sides of his arms before Talon found him. It was certainly a possibility, but what could this mean? Was he being hunted? Maybe he was simply being watched, though that did not make him feel any more at ease. Whatever the case, he knew that pondering would only give him a headache, so with one last glance at each arm Link sighed and slipped the shirt on. Putting the mirror back in the drawer, he quickly went around the room and put out the candles before crawling into bed.

If nothing else, he could always ask Marin about it…

* * *

Yikes, took me longer to actually finish writing it than I had hoped, but at least it's done now, right? I think this one was a bit better than the previous chapters, so hopefully that makes up for the longish wait (unless you didn't like this one…).

I have to admit, I haven't written a budding romance in a while, so I'm feeling a bit rusty at the moment, especially since my other stories at the moment aren't really what I'd call "budding" romances. I don't think there's anything wrong with it, but then it's a little hard to judge my own work. If anything seems to be going along too quickly, don't hesitate to let me know!

Thanks to **9tailsfox2, MadSkillz, **and **linkkirby8692** for reviewing! **linkkirby**, to answer your question (sorry for not doing it through PM, but it was a very short question), this story doesn't follow any sort of timeline, so the events of OoT never happened (at least not with this Link). Think of it sort of like an AU.

Thanks for reading and please review!

–_GengaJupite_


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